Mobile apps and state media Web sites turned black-and-white, flags on some government buildings in Beijing were at half-mast and flowers were laid as China mourned the death of former leader Jiang Zemin (江澤民).
State media said that Jiang had died of leukemia and multiple organ failure in Shanghai on Wednesday at the age of 96 after all medical treatments failed, and that funeral preparations had begun.
Floral tributes were laid in Jiang’s hometown of Yangzhou and nearby Shanghai, where police were deployed yesterday around the intersections near the hospital where he was rumored to have died.
Photo: EPA-EFE
At about 12:45pm, a convoy of vehicles traveled from the direction of the hospital, headed by a car bearing what appeared to be a wreath of yellow flowers on its hood.
An hour earlier, police ordered pedestrians to leave the intersection as bused-in bystanders gathered around the crossroads wearing drab-colored clothing and masks.
Pictures taken by someone living along one of the major roads nearby showed people lining the pavement holding white chrysanthemums, a traditional Chinese funeral flower.
Some held a banner saying: “May you have safe travels, old classmate.”
Officials in yellow vests lined the road, with some perched on high buildings overlooking the highway.
A local resident told reporters that he received a sudden notice on Wednesday night that his child’s school would close the following day for “traffic reasons.”
He added that he was barred from leaving his housing compound before 5pm yesterday and told to close the windows of his apartment, with no reason given.
Jiang’s funeral committee is headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), state media said.
No date was given for the event, but it is expected that it would be held in Beijing.
Jiang’s legacy is mixed. Many welcomed his humorous public persona as a breath of fresh air after decades of staid communist leadership, while critics accused him of allowing rampant corruption, inequality and the repression of political activists.
In retirement, he became the subject of memes among millennial and Gen Z Chinese fans, who called themselves “toad worshipers” in thrall to his frog-like countenance and quirky mannerisms.
Within an hour of his death being announced, more than half a million commenters flooded a social media post by China Central Television, with many referring to him as “Grandpa Jiang.”
Pictures on social media showed the walls of Jiang’s old residence in Yangzhou lined with bouquets of flowers, with some people bowing as they placed them there.
The owner of a nearby flower shop told reporters that she received more than 100 orders from people who wished to pay tribute, with some coming from people outside Yangzhou using delivery apps.
“We are not the one with the most orders, some shops nearer got several hundred delivery orders,” she said.
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